Surviving Hope
by Miss-Statement
Summary: He'd never pegged her as the type to wear jewelry, the solitary bird. She'd seemed, to him at least, as modest as the monks who'd raised her. The odd assortment of books in her room may not attest to that, but he supposed that everyone had that one vice... He just never thought it would be this. One-Shot BBRae kinda weird Leave a review


You'd miss it if you weren't looking; that little motion hidden in the folds of her cloak, and then- **_T_**_**here** -_ the gleam of _something_ dangling at the end of an obsidian chain. He'd never pegged her as the type to wear jewelry, the solitary bird. She'd seemed, to him at least, as modest as the monks who'd raised her. The odd assortment of books in her room may not attest to that, but he supposed that everyone had that one vice... He just never thought it would be this.

She hadn't noticed him yet, which in itself was a miracle. She senses things and would usually have noticed his emotional signature by now. Even then, it should've been obvious she was no longer alone in the room as he was sitting at the opposite end of the couch. Rarely, if ever, had he seen her like this. The dark bird seemed lost within the pages of her book, her hood down, legs pulled up under her as she leaned against the shoulder of the couch. Strands of her soft purple hair fell in her face, almost hiding the little bird from view. Almost abstractly, Raven delicately sighed and, painstakingly to him, brushed the strands behind her ear. She didn't notice.

And **_there,_ **the gleam became more pronounced. The chain itself reflecting the light from the common room back dully, but following each and every tiny link in the chain brought him to... it was covered by her cloak. He almost growled in frustration, for some reason much more curious about the little chain than he should be. _What is it _she wore around her neck? _And from where did she get it? _Beast Boy was almost jealous.

He wanted to speak; he wanted to ask, but he was afraid that any words would break this precious moment. It seemed as if, just sitting at the other end of the couch, she was suspended in a moment of time all her own. Any words he could say would shatter it, but he felt the almost overwhelming urge to ask about her obsidian necklace. A finger, so careful and precise, seemed to lightly brush across the paper in her book before gently tugging over the page as if covering the opposite side of the book in a blanket. Garfield watched her eyes, then, as they danced lightly, following along with a music held in the words of a book he couldn't begin to comprehend. There was the ghost of a smile at her mouth; the lightest upturn at the corner of her lips.

Quite suddenly he realized just why Happy's cloak was pink, because **_there,_**the faintest blush of her cheeks as she unconsciously reacted to whatever words she read. Somehow, reading this story, she'd become almost... giddy-something about the characters nearly made her smile, and her face became heated in quiet excitement. The pinkish tint across her otherwise ivory cheeks, however, spoke louder to him than any words could have. His own face felt hot, all of a sudden, gazing at her. Starfire might've been something to look at and all the world readily agree, but there was something about Raven's quiet beauty that made her downright gorgeous.

_What was it about the characters... What was it about the book..._

_How could a book make her feel such joy... and not me?_

_**There; **_there was that gleam again. Light, an almost startling contrast when compared to the heavy indigo cloak and black leotard she wore, hanging off an obsidian chain. He leaned in a little closer, his eyes now focusing on that curiosity hanging around her neck, and he could almost see... Raven's eyes snapped up, and Garfield was caught off guard by the two amethyst orbs that seemed to look right _at him _and not through him. Dazedly he wondered if maybe he should look away.

_"Garfield?"_

_Her voice was a whisper; a gentle breeze in the wind that tugged at his hair and convinced him to follow along behind her like a lost dog._

_"Yeah?"_

_Her eyes were liquid pools of midnight and starlight... and her lips were turned down now in a thoughtful frown._

"What are you looking at?"

He blinked, coming out of the strange haze that fogged his mind. He shook his head, trying to clear it away, "Uhh..." He blinked again, looking everywhere but at her eyes. "What?"

Raven rolled her eyes and repeated the question, her monotone voice seeming to take a harder edge, "What were you looking at?" Beast Boy couldn't resist looking back, blushing furiously.

"Nothing!" he nearly yelled. Could she tell he was sweating? He pulled nervously at the collar of his uniform.

Raven looked at him oddly, eyebrow arched in a silent question. Upon witnessing his burning face and nervous habits, she shook her head, hair daintily flying about in silent protest. "Nevermind," she dryly remarked. "I don't want to know."

Beast Boy sighed in relief, although now he was faced with this uncomfortable tightness in his chest. He _wanted _her to know... although he himself had no idea what it was he wanted to share.

Raven dog-eared the page she was on before snapping the book shut. Book in hand, she began to rise from the couch when he saw it again. This time the cloak did little to hide what it was dangling at the end of the obsidian chain, and Beast Boy openly gaped in surprise. It was something he hadn't expected to see **_there,_ **loosely resting at the sensitive base of her throat. Garfield opened his mouth to speak, but before he got the chance to say a word Raven was gone. He was left alone in the room, mind buzzing with this new, sudden piece of information, with little else to contend with but the game station and his thoughts.

What he had seen there, at the end of her chain, hanging delicately around the dark angel's throat, were the disfigured remains of what had been a copper penny; the same one that he had given to her not so long ago. No, it was not a pretty gem or a hidden vice that hung around her neck, instead what graced her throat... was _hope. _And it had _survived._

For some reason, this made his stomach twist and his face split into a wide, genuine smile.

_Hope had survived, and Raven kept it around her neck._

Garfield had never had a better day.

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**A.N.:**

**Thanks for reading. If you like it enough, leave a review. This has the potential to become a series, but it might be better to just set it off to the side as a one-shot. For now, that's what it'll be. Let me know what you think~**

**And thanks.**


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